Project: Desert Refuge Week 1

Both of my watercolor classes started this project at the same time to both should follow this post. I will note if there are any differences between the two classes.
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The first thing we did was to paint in our sky and water.

If you are in the Wednesday class, this was just like the practice we did the week before.

First I mixed a color for the sky which was ultramarine blue, a tiny touch of burnt sienna and water to thin the color. We want a pale blue gray.

Next we wet the paper all the way across not worrying bout the mountain. Then starting at the top, I added the blue color. You paper should be slightly elevated at the back so gravity can help you. Work the color down the  sky area with just a damp, clean brush. If you need to you can add more sky color but start back up at the top.

You are going to have to work fast because you need the paper to stay wet, so to part of the sky color add a tiny amount of alizarin crimson to turn it lavender. Next, turn your paper 90 degrees and drip this new lavender color along the side and let it run down your paper. You may need to turn it 180 and come in from the other side if the color doesn't get all the way across.

Next, turn the paper upside down, wet the area that will have the water and repeat the above steps, then let it dry when you are done. 

When the paper was dry we added the mountain and the distant desert.

The mountain was burnt sienna and some of the sky color. I was using my 3/4" angle brush to get this done quickly, and I used the edge of the brush to shape the tops of my mountains, it will give them a softer edge. My brushstrokes in the mountain followed the shapes I see in the photo. This is not a wall, it has shapes within its shape your brush strokes need to follow those shapes.

The desert at the bottom was yellow, a tiny touch of burnt sienna with a touch of the sky color to gray the color and I used the sky color to add some color changes to that part of the desert. This time my brush strokes were flatter because the desert is flatter.

Finally, I added the reeds behind the levee. This was yellow, burnt sienna a tiny touch of orange to make a mustard color. To apply it I used a dry brush technique, first loading my brush then drying and spreading the bristles of my brush to make quick up strokes for the reeds.

The last things I did was to use the sky color to add shadows into the mountains. Look at the photo before doing this, keep the shadows pale and usually, less is more.

I also under painted the levee banks with a light mix of burnt umber and the sky color.

Try to have your painting to this point in our next class so we can continue from there.

Keep painting and I will see you in class.